Chelsea have been handed a major blow to their hopes of signing Nico O'Reilly before the transfer window slams shut at 11pm. The 19-year-old midfielder has recently been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge as Enzo Maresca looks to bolster his options in the middle of the park.

O'Reilly only made his Premier League debut for Manchester City last month, coming off the subs bench in a 6-0 win over Ipswich Town at Portman Road. While the England Under-20 international has only featured once in the English top-flight, he has been given starts in the domestic cup competitions.

He helped City secure a spot in the FA Cup fourth round, finding the net in an 8-0 win against Salford City. O'Reilly also starred in the third and fourth round of the Carabao Cup, enjoying a 2-1 win over Watford and a suffering a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, respectively.

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Despite having played less than 350 minutes of senior football, the teenager has managed to attract interest from West London. Indeed, according to our colleagues at The Manchester Evening News, Chelsea recently approached City regarding O'Reilly's availability.

The report states that the teenager has had admirers at Stamford Bridge for a while, and the arrival of head coach Enzo Maresca and his assistant Danny Walker only fuelled the Blues' interest. However, initial talks collapsed when the Premier League champions insisted on including a buy-back clause.

The Manchester Evening News states that City would have entertained a deal for O'Reilly had such an arrangement been put in place. Chelsea signed Cole Palmer from the English champions for just £42million on deadline day in the summer of 2023, and no buy-back clause was written into the contract.

City have since rued that decision, with the Blues star establishing himself as one of the best players in the Premier League. Nevertheless, speaking to reporters ahead of the West Ham game, Maresca was asked whether he expects any signings on deadline day.

Keeping his cards close to his chest, the Blues boss said: "You can expect players to arrive and you can expect players to be leaving. It is like this in this moment. I don't have any ideas about the ones that can leave, and the ones that can arrive. Anything can happen. For me, the main focus is on 48 hours, the game is the main focus and the most important thing."

Then, on if the outside noise regarding transfers has impacted his squad, Maresca added: "100 per cent. Not only for us but all the teams. In the end, they are human beings. Even if they say: 'No, I am professional, I am focused', if they are talking to other clubs then they are probably not focused 100 per cent.

"It's not just for us. This can be something. The other one, I think, probably losing Wes [Fofana], who for us has been a key player since the start, has been some moment. But if you see [Man] City and Arsenal, that has happened to all of the teams. The reason why is different.

"The good thing is we are still playing a good game, a good performance, good chances. Probably in this moment, the difference has been inside of the box."